Lately, I’ve spent a lot of time working on the goodpaper brand. I’ve been collecting photos, phrases, paper, fabric swatches – basically any and everything that in some way represents the goodpaper brand. My sweet husband transformed a gorgeous mirror (that we had no place for) into an inspiration board. I’ve begun tacking up my “inspirational” pieces to help me as I work with my web designer (Kendra, from Hi Design) to develop the site (so excited!!!) and create elements of the brand – like business cards, marketing collateral, email templates, the new blog, etc.

So far, Goodpaper is :: happy, Southern, clean, fresh, classic and traditional above all else. Here is a look at a few of the elements that have made their way to my Goodpaper inspiration board so far. It's a little all over the place, but it's a compilation of pieces that define one part or another - at this stage in the process, I'll start whittling down to get to the heart of goodpaper. In other news, I’ve finalized all 25 Goodpaper wedding suites – complete with coordinating “love logos,” invitations, response cards, save the dates, thank you notes, menus and programs. Stoked.

PS :: If you haven't been to my site lately... you have to check it out. The new song is so CUTE!

When I was a little girl... my mom (love her! see recent photo) used to read me this book by Dr. Seuss. Now, you should know two things about me: 1) I have a BA in English and love books 2) For a good part of my life I dreamed of writing/illustrating children's books, so they have a special place in my heart. So, expanding on the English BA, I got an MSA in Public Administration from the University of West Florida. I was the Executive Director of Ballet Pensacola at 23 (one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life), then a Development Manager for Covenant Hospice (one of the best organizations in the world if you ask me), and the Assistant Director of Development for the Women in Leadership & Philanthropy program at the University of South Florida. Who knew my life would take a turn for stationery and weddings. This post is really just my realization that life takes so many turns, some expected, some calculated, some unplanned - but each making a special mark on our souls and spirits. This Emily Ley Paper journey has been/is one of bravery, challenge, perserverance, and true heart. Goodpaper - the "love child" of my husband's entrepreneurial spirit and my Southern traditionalism and creative spark - will be a dream come true and nothing less.

Emily Ley Paper’s been taking a bit of a breather lately. August started with bustling activity getting things prepped for an August 31 deadline for the new goodpaper website. Since then, I’ve purchased a great Canon SLR camera for product photography, updated to a great iPhone to keep in touch when I’m out and about, acquired some new shelving in my office/studio, met with a fantastic rep for MAC papers for the new “goodpaper” invites, sent files to my thermographer for product photography, worked with my amazing photographer Meg Baisden to set up some artistic shots and a portrait session for the “About Us” page in downtown Tampa, finalized all 25 wedding suites (love-logos, thank you cards, invitations, enclosure cards, response cards, programs and menus), made more headway on the personal stationery end, chosen a fabulous color palette of 15 classic/Southern inspired thermography colors, and started working on photo-Christmas-cards for an October offering date. Whew.

Here is a little sneak-peak of the Goodpaper website for you all to see!

I also got great news that I’ll be quoted in the next issue of Stationery Trends magazine hitting stands in September on the value of social media (Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, Forums) for new businesses (53,000 circulation). The coolest part - is that Crane is quoted too (get it... old business perspective vs. new business perspective). Goodpaper will be referenced – and though the new site isn’t up and the business isn’t launched technically, I’m very excited to have secured the first true publicity for Goodpaper. I’ve laid out what I hope is a pretty strategic timeline for the next six months – planning for a launch date of Thursday, January 6. Part of me wants to have a giant launch party… this will be the culmination of EXACTLY one year’s hard, tireless, passionate work. I’m so excited to share my brand with the world. And I can’t wait to see what it becomes.